Stephen Ashworth

Stephen advises in the field of planning, public and regulatory law. His practice concentrates on regeneration and infrastructure projects, such as major town centre schemes. He also works on Private Finance Initiative projects and Public/Private Partnerships schemes. Major clients include Sainsbury's, Westfield, Gallagher Estates, English Partnerships Reigate & Banstead Council, Highways Agency, Ministry of Defence and various Government departments.

"Although working here for almost 15 years I have managed to escape three times. First on secondment to Sainsbury's to learn about retailing. Second to travel on a bike around Africa. Again, I learnt about retailing - buying in street markets and selling canoes. Third, I went to the US. Here, I looked at the ways in which the American planning system 'encourages' developers to contribute to infrastructure. I am now more permanently attached to planning, trying to improve urban infrastructure."